Fall/Spring 2022 I/O Psych Masters Chance Me Thread

[psychguy2022]

Hi all, 

Please let me know if there is a "chance me" thread for 2022 IO psych already, I couldn't find one so I thought I'd try here. 

I am a 23 year old who graduated from a well-known R1 university in 2019 with a BS in Psychology, and am now working at an even more prominent R1 as a research assistant in clinical psychology. For the past 2.5 years I've had the intention of applying to PhD programs for clinical, however as that has neared closer, I've realized that I don't think I am someone who should get a PhD. I like research, but I don't necessarily want work for a university/be tenure track; I also don't think I am as interested in studying clinical populations as I thought I was. As such, I am most heavily considering Master's programs, as I do not think I am someone who needs a PhD to be happy/feel successful, and from my limited knowledge a Master's seems as though it can provide adequate financial support.

About me: Academically, I had a rough first 2 years of undergrad. I came in thinking I knew what I wanted to do, and quickly realized I did not. While everyone around me seemed to love and fit perfectly into what they were studying, it became that much harder to focus on schoolwork and find my passion. I haven't yet decided how I will be framing this in my personal statement's but I am aware of the things to avoid (i.e., mental health difficulties and other clichés); and I do have a solid upward trajectory I can point to. Once I started studying psychology and joined a cognitive neuro lab I was in, things turned around completely. Though, as a result of the more-than-rocky start, my cumulative gpa is a 3.15, and major (psych) gpa is 3.66. In my last 60 credits (2 years) my overall gpa is a 3.76 and psych gpa in that same time frame is a 3.88. I also completed a post-bacc program at a prestigious R1, consisting of 4 classes and got a 4.0. 

In my current post-bacc lab, I am co-author on 2 published papers and will hopefully have a first authored paper by fall. I have my name on a couple posters as well. I have 2 strong letters of rec and am working on securing a third.

My main worry with applying to masters programs is that 1) my cum. gpa is on the low end, and 2) my research background, while strong, is in cognitive/clinical psych, not in I/O psychology. My desire is to continue to use my data analysis skills (coding in R/SPSS/Matlab) in whatever program I pursue, and in my future career as well. 

Any thoughts on my chances of getting into a top MA/MS program, areas to improve before application season, etc. are much appreciated. Apologies for the long-windedness.